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From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and currently a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Felix Mgbada, spoke to some journalists in Abakaliki on the oncoming general elections and other political issues.
For him, South East remains the traditional base of the PDP and this will show in the outcomes of the polls.
You are supporting Atiku Abubakar for President despite the way PDP has badly treated the South East. Why not support Peter Obi because it is the turn of the South East?
Let me tell you that there is a strong conspiracy against an Igbo man becoming the president. It did not start today. Chief Alex Ekwueme was to take over from Shagari but before you know it, there was a military coup which sacked the civilian administration. And Buhari took over. President Shagari who had promised us that he would hand over to Ekwueme told me personally that the military coup was to stop an Igbo man from becoming the president because of the civil war. Buhari couldn’t have taken over if they didn’t envisage that Shagari will hand over to an Igbo man.
Two, after Abacha died, Ekwueme called a meeting in Abakaliki here and told us that he was interested in the presidency and we agreed to support him. We started campaigning, it was in our convention in Jos that Jim Nwobodo and the troop said that Ekwueme will not win the presidency. Before then, I didn’t know that Jim Nwobodo speaks very good Hausa. Ekwueme had won clean, before we knew it, they said it was Obasanjo. Babangida and those generals gave it to Obasanjo. Ekwueme had already won, immediately after casting the vote, I left. I was there with many of our boys, I don’t want to name them. They took it from Ekwueme.
Let me tell you, this thing I’m saying now is very important, you can quote me, the Fulani stated that if an Igbo man becomes president, Biafra is back. They will not vote for Peter Obi.
Peter Obi was three years my junior in the university. Peter Obi came in 1980, they are 1980 set. They know me very well; they didn’t meet me but they know I schooled in Nsukka with Pat Utomi; he was my classmate. They knew those in students’ union politics. I was in students’ union politics in Nsukka, Nnia Nwodo was in students’ union politics in Ibadan and he was the only Igbo man who has ever won students’ union politics in Ibadan, he won with one vote. I went for the campaign. It was the girl we caught by force that made Nnia Nwodo to win with just one vote. And the rest started crying.
So, Peter Obi is my brother. I want the best for him. The day he came to Abakaliki for campaign when he was still in PDP, he came to my house before going to see us in the party office. So, your question is very well taken. I’m not the man giving the president. But let me tell you, we’re so marginalized in this country that they take decisions somewhere and that’s the problem with Africa. It started even before Independence. The white men stayed in one house in Berlin now known as Berlin Conference of 1884/1885 and divided Africa. You come to a particular place, you take a tribe and divide them into two. For example, in Nigeria, some tribe in Nigeria, some tribe in Benin. They didn’t call us to say, “this is how we’re going to divide Africa” in Berlin conference; they divided us without our consent and it’s happening now in Nigeria because we fought a civil war that we lost.
Even here in Ebonyi State, you are not supporting zoning of governorship. Your endorsement of Ifeanyichukwu Odii of PDP is against the spirit of fairness and equity; how will you feel seeing another person from the South takeover from Governor David Umahi?
In the first place, that the governor of Ebonyi State went to the North in 1999 was just luck. I contested myself with Sam Egwu. Many people from the South also contested, it was not zoned, it was just luck. And the luck was the hand of Esau in it just like in the bible. Why I said it had an Esau in it was because the then military administrator of the state looked at all of us contesting and said Sam Egwu who was in his cabinet as the commissioner for education was a softer person, who will cover him up. It was just luck. It wasn’t stated anywhere that it must come from the North. People from the North, Central and South contested. I myself contested but it was just luck that the Military Administrator preferred Dr. Sam Egwu and he used government power to pave way for him.
He said people like us were too radical. And that time, governors were taking bribes in millions. It is not now they take bribe in trillions and nobody will ask them questions. They just came here to divide our commonwealth and that is why we’re very poor. I knew when Police Commissioner, Simeon Oduoye went to Lagos to quarrel one lady for not releasing one million. He transferred the woman to come and stay in Abakaliki and took another woman to Lagos to go and release the one million. By that time, if you release one million Naira bribe, it was big money but now, it’s in trillions. So, it was just luck that Sam Egwu took it and not zoning.
When he finished, I contested again, Lawrence Nwuruku contested and many other people including Chief Hycainth Ikpor from Afikpo who is now in UBEB. The governor then had a meeting with his kitchen cabinet and said Chief Martin Elechi was softer and would cover him up. My junior brother, Senator Julius Ali Ucha was to win. He played a very big game then as they were going to the stadium; he wrote the names of those who were going to vote for Elechi and immediately they entered; they closed the door and removed Ucha’s people. A lot of people contested then and some are still contesting now. If not that I’ve lost all my money, I would still be contesting now.
Look, let me tell you, there’s no place where it is written that after here, power goes to here or there. Even now, people from the Central are contesting and people from the south are also contesting.
Why is it that founding fathers of the state have not been able to speak with one voice regarding the issue of Umahi’s successor; election is around the corner and there is a lot of confusion because of this?
Founding fathers of Ebonyi State under the Chairmanship of Chief Martin Elechi, former Governor of the state met at the house of Dr. Agom Eze. We reviewed the situation and a lot of arguments canvassed as it concerns the issue of the governorship.
At the end of the day, we reached a consensus that we shall remain apolitical; that is to say that we are not going to declare support for any candidate as a group. Because as founding fathers, all the contestants are from Ebonyi State and as such, they are our children. We can only pray for all of them and bless them but not to declare support for any of them. Whoever wins eventually becomes our candidate.
With the division in your party, do you think PDP could still retain its place after the elections in Ebonyi?
Let me tell you, Ebonyi State remains a PDP state no matter what has happened. In fact, the entire South East remains the strong base of PDP. PDP will win in Ebonyi and Chukwuma Odii will emerge the next Governor of Ebonyi State. Ihedioha won in Imo State despite APC being in Government House. We know what happened which made Hope Uzodinma who came fourth in the election to takeover as Governor. If not Supreme Court, Ihedioha would still be Governor of Imo State today. PDP will win Ebonyi in March.
